


A Witness to Grief

by PsychVamp



Series: The North Remembers [1]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Depressing, Excessive Drinking, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Hopeful Ending, Red Wedding, arya is older, gendry POV, she stays with the brotherhood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:02:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22794436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PsychVamp/pseuds/PsychVamp
Summary: Arya learns of the events of the Red Wedding, Gendry does his best to be there for herBased on a prompt from the days-of-gendrya on tumblr
Relationships: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters
Series: The North Remembers [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1655101
Comments: 27
Kudos: 122





	A Witness to Grief

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: They barely escaped Harrenhal and now they're stomping around the Riverlands with the Brotherhood. One night they stop at an inn, Arya is keen on drinking away the knowledge of the Red Wedding and the creep at the bar can't take a hint. "That's my wife" is a new defense tactic from Gendry. (a redo of the Peach incident with an older Arya and less self deprecating Gendry.)
> 
> I changed it up a little bit and this very much came about how Arya deals with her grief. If you cry easy, you might want some tissues. 
> 
> Character deaths are just the Red Wedding victims, plus mentions of other characters that have been lost.

The inn was nothing special, it looked like every other inn they passed as they moved through the Riverlands. Thoros went ahead, walking into the building as Harwin and Anguy started seeing to the horses. Gendry was in charge of seeing to Arya, who had not spoken a word since the news of the Red Wedding had reached them that morning. She had simply sat down and stared into the fire, silent tears leaving streaks on her dirty face. She had barely even moved when he had told her it was time to go, allowing him to lead her over and then lift her onto the horse. Now the sun was beginning to set, a light snow had begun to fall, and she had still yet to say a word to him. 

She walked into the inn with him without complaint, and sat down at a table, immediately requesting an ale from the serving girl. Gendry requested one for himself as well and sat down across from her, willing to wait in silence for her to speak first. The only words she spoke were to the serving girl, and it was nothing besides asking for more or a thank you. She ignored the chicken that Gendry had requested for her, knowing she needed something else her stomach beside ale, but she had mostly ignored it. 

He sighed and turned around to talk to Anguy at the neighboring table, learning about the room situation. Thoros had thought it best to get Arya a room all her own, something to allow her to grieve alone if she so wished. Gednry, Anguy, and Harwin were to the share room next to hers. He nodded and turned back to Arya, only to notice she was gone. His blue eyes frantically searched the room before they found her up at the small bar top, a fresh cup of ale in her hands. 

He took her in as he watched her, she was nearly a woman grown now at seventeen, she had grown much in their time with the Brotherhood. Even in the men’s clothing she always wore, he would have been an idiot to not notice how beautiful she had become. It had actually caused him to have some very explicit dreams about her that he was sure would get him gelded if she, or any member of the Brotherhood, learned of them. It was then that he noticed a man had moved closer to position at the bar. He seemed to be of age with Thoros, with just a little hair, and the way he was eyeing Arya left Gendry clenching his fists. 

He got to his feet when he saw the man reach forward and lightly touch Arya on the arm. She instantly recoiled from the man, but she’d had so much to drink she had to overcorrect to stop herself from falling off the stool, accidentally bringing herself closer to the man.

The man leered at her, “Come on lovely, I’d make it worth your while.”

“Go fuck yourself!” He heard Arya reply as she attempted to stand.

The man reached out again and grabbed her arm, “I think I’d rather fuck you.”

“Let her go. Now!” Gendry replied, stepping up beside them, he was giving the man 30 seconds or Gendry was going to break something.

The man laughed, “Get out of here boy, I’m busy.”

“That’s my wife you are touching and if you do not let go of her I will break your fucking arm.” He said without thinking. He had met men like this one before, one that only saw women as property and any unclaimed woman was fair game. 

The man let go and Arya stumbled backwards into Gendry, who she instantly turned and curled into him, mumbling, “Gendry, I don’t feel good.”

“I know love. Let’s get you up to bed.” Gendry said, hooking his arm around her to help support while continuing to glare at the man who had dared to come near her.

He could see Harwin and Anguy making their way over, hopefully to deal with the drunken idiot. Gendry turned his focus to Arya and led her away from the common room. She stumbled on the first few steps, he let out a huff and lifted her into his arms.

She let out a contented sigh as she relaxed in his arms, “You are really strong.”

“You weigh nothing m’lady.” He replied as she leaned her head against his chest, and he hoped she couldn’t hear how fast his heart was beating, how much her presence affected him. He also thought that even if she did, that she would not remember much of this evening in the morning.

He pushed open for the small room that belonged to her, it held a single bed and a small table. He gently laid her on the bed before going to check on the fire, adding a few more logs so it would last the night. He then poured her a glass of the waiting water and kneeled in front of her as she sat on the bed, “Drink this. Would you like to try eating again?”

She took a sip of the water and then shook her head, “No food.”

He sighed but nodded, “No food.”

Her grey eyes were staring at him when he looked back at her again, “Why wouldn’t that man leave me alone?”

“You know why.” He replied, knowing she was naive or stupid, just drunk.

“I am nothing special, not like my sister or my….my mother.” She choked on the words and took another sip of the water.

The lone tear that escaped her eye was enough to let him know how hard she was fighting her feelings. He moved to sit beside her on the bed and wrapped his arm over her shoulder, “You need to feel it Arya, otherwise it will eat you from the inside.”

She shook her head and tried to toss off his arm, but he wouldn’t allow it. He lowered his voice, “I barely remember my mother but I remember what it felt like when she was gone. I was alone and I was lost. No one was there to help me. I am here for you.”

She didn’t speak, but he felt her shoulders start to shake and she allowed him to lean her against his chest. Her silent tears soon turned into full sobs as she clung to him, crying for her lost her family, the ones they had been trying so hard to find. 

He wasn’t sure how much time passed with her crying in his arms, he heard steps walking past the room, but no one stopped. He had a feeling that she wasn’t just crying for her mother and brother, but for her father, her younger brothers, and Yoren, Lommy, and everyone else they had lost. Eventually the tears and sobs slowed before coming to stop, and she was laying silent in his arms. He had moved them at some point so he was flat on the bed and she was half on top of him.

“Thank you.” She whispered into the dark room, the low flames of the fire the only thing providing any light.

He held her tighter, “I am sorry about what happened.”

“I could be the last Stark, if those rumors about the Greyjoys were true.”

“There is your sister and your brothers could still be alive.” 

She shook her head, “The Lannisters have Sansa and even if the Greyjoy’s didn’t kill them, the Boltons can’t let Ned Stark’s sons live, it weakens their claim to the North.”

He let out a breath, “We can still go to the Wall, to Jon.”

“The Night’s Watch doesn’t accept women, and without the Starks in control of the North….” She shook her head as she trailed off, “The North isn’t safe for the daughter of Ned Stark.”

“Maybe one day that will change.” He said softly, his hand slowly running up and down her back.

He felt her body tense before she said, “Until then, I will make the Riverlands unsafe for every Frey soldier I can find and then when I am done with them. I will return to Winterfell and I will make Roose Bolton live his banner.”

Her words were full of a conviction he was not sure he had ever felt before and he had no doubt that she would do whatever she could to make her words truth. He nodded, “I shall be beside you every step of the way.”

“I would hope so, you are husband.” 

He stuttered for breath and looked down at her, her grey eyes were clear once again and she was smiling at him. He sighed, “You are teasing me.”

“You called me your wife first. It was only fair.” She replied before placing her head back in the previous position flat on his chest.

“Men like that see women as possessions. If you had not been so drunk, I know you could have taken care of him yourself, but I needed to protect you. It was the first thing that came to mind.” He explained, remembering how mad she had been that one time, at the Peach, when he introduced her as his sister. She did not seem nearly as upset now.

She laughed, “Thank you for your protection Ser.”

“I am always at your service m’lady.”

“I know.” She said, “I know I can always count on you Gendry. You are my family now.”

There would have been a time where he would have denied her claim, that a princess and a bastard blacksmith could never be family. Things were different now. Her family was gone, she had no home to return too, and he had held her while she grieved for those things. He was never going to be able to let her go now. He tightened his hold on her, “You are mine too.”

She did not respond, just curled herself even more into his body, and they laid in the quiet. He eventually felt her breathing start to even out, and moved to leave before he succumbed to sleep in her bed. As he went to move, her hands fisted in his tunic, “Where are you going?”

He looked down at her, she was looking back up at him, an unusual expression on her face, “I was going to leave so you could sleep.”

“Will you stay? I do not want to be alone.” She asked, and it was the most vulnerable he had ever heard her voice.

He knew what the others would say if he stayed, there would be questions of his intentions and if he had taken advantage of her in her drunk and emotional state. The look on her face, half hidden in shadow, made him kick off his boats and settle more firmly onto the bed. She needed him, and he would do anything for her. He would deal with the questions about his honor forever, as long as it meant that Arya would grant him her smile and fall asleep next to him for the rest of his life.

He knew he was allowing himself to be taken down a dangerous path, one that many people would not understand. Arya was not just someone to bed and throw away, no, she was a woman people started wars over. He would fight off all of Westeros to keep her safe, but he could start with the Freys. First thing in the morning, once she had her rest.

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully everyone is still doing okay. I tried to lighten it up a bit at the end. Don't forget to let me know what you thought!!


End file.
